was not considered to be federal law, neither federal law nor state law. if that were so, every tort action, which in those days were decided under -- under a general law that was up there in the sky, would have been a federal -- a federal claim. >> but there were -- there was certain -- there were certain norms that were believed to be part of the law of nations, including piracy and attacks on ambassadors, and they were governed by universal standards. >> common law. it's general common law. >> well, but i think this court found in sosa that that -- that that part of common law at the time has become customary international law, and that the courts of this country have not lost their ability to enforce the same kinds of law of nations norms as the founders wanted to enforce in the alien tort statute in the context of universal human rights norms. >> well, that isn't the issue. the issue is whether when they do so they are enforcing federal law or not. >> i think this court said that the federal common law within one of the exceptions to erie -- i think t